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Q&A with George Hynd, Oakland University

New OU president's agenda: Meet with biz, academic leaders

George Hynd was named Oakland University president last week, succeeding interim President Betty Youngblood at the Rochester Hills school. Since 2010, Hynd had been provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. He held previous academic leadership positions at Arizona State University and Purdue University.

Hynd, 66, spoke with Crain's reporter Kirk Pinho on Friday about his vision and priorities for OU.

OU traditionally has been seen as a commuter school but has recently been ramping up its efforts to get new dorms on campus, including a large new dorm project that's wrapping up this summer. How are you going to further that effort?

It is, in fact, a commuter institution. Most of the students do not live on campus, and about 14 percent do. The addition of the new residence hall, 500 new beds, is going to make a dramatic impact on the desirability of living on campus.

One of the important things is that the Honors College will be in that residence hall. There, we have a good example of how an academic unit can draw students into that environment.

What do you see as your initial priorities?

My intention is to return to campus here a couple times before Aug. 15, and I would like to meet with the board of trustees again and the senior leadership at Oakland University on a more informal basis, perhaps individually, and have an opportunity to really drill down into the information that I have been able to glean from the outside.

What I would like to do when I start, with the board and senior leadership, is develop a 90-120 day plan on things I would like to accomplish, people I would like to meet and info I would like to gather, so I and everyone else have a pretty clear idea as to really what I'll be doing for the first semester there. Part of that is going to be getting a better grip on the opportunities and challenges that Oakland has.

The engineering department has more than doubled in size — from about 1,000 students to more than 2,000 — and is also getting a new building. What do you see as the future of that department, and what would you like to address?

I'm incredibly impressed with the School of Engineering and Computer Science. If you look at the five fastest-growing majors at OU, computer science is right up there over the last several years. The number of students in that program has grown by something like 40 percent. That tells you there is a market out there that sees computer science and engineering as facilitating a career path that they desire.

There is an opportunity, I think — the dean and I very briefly discussed this — that if you look at the faculty in engineering, almost 30 percent are women. There is an incredible opportunity to reach out and encourage more women to come into the computer science and engineering field.

I think what we'll find is that that will be a point of pride I will be championing as I come in as president. Needless to say, I don't know if that means growing the school and by how much, but resources will be important.

What kind of business outreach efforts will you employ?

Truthfully, I'm just past the point of taking a look at OU and the surrounding area from the outside, and that's where those 120 days will be important — connecting with the business community and finding out what their needs are. I have not had an opportunity yet to form those relationships that I think will sustain Oakland University's outreach. That's going to be a developing initiative.

I've been incredibly impressed with the economic development plans that I've looked at from afar, both in Oakland County and also the surrounding areas, as well as in the city of Detroit. There is an incredible opportunity for outreach. A lot of that will not just be faculty and programs in the school of business, but I anticipate efforts that will offer business outreach throughout the entire university.

What's the future of business education at OU?

Right now, about 7 percent of the instruction of courses delivered at OU is through distance education online. That includes completely online courses and hybrid courses. I would like to drive that up. One way is that online helps students whose schedules are not necessarily congruent with the (traditional business hours) class schedule.

And, students who are taking classes on campus might also be taking an online course. It's a matter of reaching out to students of all stripes. There is the opportunity to reach a different population, the adult learner, students over 24.

What is your first order of business that is not OU-related when you get to town?

I'm going to be asking our communications and development people to give me a list of people and businesses they think I should touch base with first. I intend to be out the door meeting with students, faculty and the business community on a regular basis.